Women’s sports enthusiasts in the UAE and the region are looking forward to the start of one of the largest sports events in the region, the Second Arab Women Sports Tournament, held in Sharjah under gracious patronage of the Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, and Chairperson of Sharjah Ladies Club. The event will be inaugurated at Sharjah Cultural and Sports Club at 6.00 pm on Sunday, February 2, 2014.

In the same context, participating sports teams are to start arriving in Sharjah and enrolling in the final training programmes prior to the official competitions that will take place between February 2 and 12, 2014. The basketball teams will be the first to arrive on Friday, January 31, followed by teams of five other games on February 1, including volleyball, table tennis, fencing, shooting, and athletics. Archery teams will be the last to arrive on February 4.

The Supreme Organising Committee revealed details of the inauguration ceremony, which will be attended by important sports figures from the GCC and the Arab World. The ceremony will include a documentary on AWST’s history and the ceremonial entrance of the participating teams, in addition to a number of speeches and welcoming notes.

Commenting on this occasion, Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Head of the Executive Committee and Manager of AWST, said: “We are only a few days away from the launching of the Second Arab Women Sports Tournament in Sharjah. We are hopeful to see the highest standards of success in this event, especially with the great efforts put into the preparations. The presence of Arab and Emirati champions will flavour this event with grandeur and excitement, and take us one step further towards realising our vision of seeing our Arab women athletes reaching international podiums in the near future.”

The inauguration ceremony will be attended by Sheikha Hayat Bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, Bahrain Olympic Committee member and Women’s Sports Committee, Chairperson and head of AWST Supervisory Committee, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Head of the Higher Organising Committee of AWST, and HE Sheikh Issa bin Rashid Al Khalifa, Senior Vice President of the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees in Bahrain.

The ceremony will also be attended by HE Saud bin Ali bin Abdulziz, Secretary General of the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees in KSA, Moroccan Olympic champion Mrs Nazha Badwan, Head of the Woman: Achievements and Values in Morocco, HE Taher Abu Zaid, Egyptian Minister of Sports, President of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Youth and Sports from Egypt, and HE Arwa Al Mutbakani, Council Member of the Saudi Equestrian Club, Head of the Baraem Committee, from KSA.

This Tournament will see the participation of around 900 athletes from 14 Arab countries, including the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen. Teams from these countries will compete in seven disciplines, hosted at nine different venues in Sharjah, namely Basketball, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Shooting, Fencing, Archery, and Athletics.